Brightway, Guard Expand in Southeast States

Two insurance companies announced new and expanded operations in the Southeast, including Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina.

Berkshire Hathaway’s Guard Insurance now offers commercial property coverage up to $120 million per property in North Carolina, the company said in a news release. The packages cover built-in equipment breakdown, crime losses, inland marine coverages, general liability and commercial umbrella.

Further south, Brightway Insurance announced it had opened a new franchise in Mississippi and expanded the number of agencies in Florida.

The Tiffany Montgomery Agency in Gulfport, Mississippi, now offers Brightway products. In Florida, four more agencies signed up, including: the Starritt Family Agency in Brooksville; the Terry Agency in Tampa; the Chrispin Agency in Delray Beach; and the Paulino Family Agency in North Fort Myers.

Brightway, a national property and casualty insurance distribution company, said it introduced lower-investment franchise opportunities last year and, since then, has contracted with more franchisees than at any time in its history. The company started in 2008 and has 331 offices in 29 states.